Black Friday deals available earlier this year

Shoppers will be flooding stores early to get a head start on special deals for the holidays. (SOURCE: CNN)

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB/CNN) -

Retailers
are starting earlier than normal as some stores are launching Black Friday
deals before Friday approaches.

Usually
consumers make a run for great bargains on Black Friday, but this year, bargain
hunting season is starting one week earlier.

According
to CNN's Alexandria Field, Walmart is holding a special "Pre-Black Friday Sale"
which cuts prices. The sale began on Friday, November 22nd, seven days before
the big event that shoppers eagerly anticipate.

"We know
that last year 35 million shoppers were out in stores and shopping online on
Thanksgiving Day, and we're fully expecting to see as many people this year,"
says a Wal-mart spokesperson.

Field says
Walmart will open its doors at 6 p.m. Thursday evening. Toys R' Us will open at
5 p.m. Field's reports that shoppers in some states, such as Florida and Ohio,
are already camping out for Thursday's big sales.

Fields says
Black Friday still draws the biggest numbers, drawing in 46% of consumers. And
34% will be back in stores on the Thanksgiving weekend. In addition, Cyber Monday is quickly
approaching, and it's expected to last through most of the week, bringing in
over a billion dollars in sales online.